Stick-of-Butter Beef Is ‘Out of This World Delicious’—and the Recipe Is Only 3 Ingredients

In some kind of cruel culinary law of physics, my family’s favorite recipes tend to be time-consuming, complicated, and expensive. Even the slow cooker ones have an ingredient list in the double digits and involve lots of chopping, slicing, and dicing. 

While I love serving dishes I know my family will rave over, I would prefer the meals to be a little less work. So I’m always on the lookout for simple yet delicious recipes that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Stick-of-Butter Beef ticks all of my desired boxes:

• Few ingredients (only three)
• Minimal prep time (five minutes)
• Stress-free (the slow cooker does all the heavy lifting)
• Inexpensive (beef stew meat is one of the most affordable cuts)
• Crowd-pleasing (one Allrecipes community member‘s husband said he could eat it every night)

What Is Stick-of-Butter Beef?

It’s beef slow cooked in a full stick of butter. The only other ingredient is an envelope of dry onion soup mix. Simmering the beef slowly in the butter renders tender, flavorful beef that melts in your mouth. 

While many Allrecipes reviewers labeled the dish perfection as is, others offered suggestions for putting your own spin on it. Several reviewers added a combination of various vegetables—most frequently mushrooms, onions, garlic, and bell peppers. One member even recommended adding a splash or two of red wine, and now my tastebuds can’t wait to try that version! 

While the recipe suggests serving the beef over egg noodles, feel free to improvise based on your family’s own tastes and dietary needs. Rice, mashed potatoes, and riced cauliflower all make  great bases for the beef.

How to Make Stick-of-Butter Beef

This dish couldn’t be any easier to prepare. Simply place the cubed beef stew meat and stick of butter in the slow cooker, and sprinkle evenly with a package of onion soup mix. Then set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. That’s it! The only hard part is resisting the tempting aromas filling your home over the next few hours. 

What the Allrecipes Community Says

• “This is almost too good to be true. I made it for a family dinner and everyone loved it. Amazing that the simple ingredients come together so well. Definitely a keeper.” —Janice Peiffer
• “Perfect as written but, since we love umami, I added fresh sliced mushrooms. Out of this world delicious!!” —Sheri
• “Comfort food plus!!” —6rescues
• “My husband loved it. He said it was a perfect blend of flavors.” —Angela
• “One of the most delicious and EASIEST meals you’ll ever have.” —James
• “Super easy. Super delicious. Affordable dinner servings.” —Em Gonz
• “This will be one of my go-to ways to cook beef from now on!” —SINGCHEF22
• “I cannot say enough good about it and would give it 10 Stars if I could.” —Pam Peters
• “So very easy and can be made when you are in a rush like most of us are these days. The hardest part was getting out the Crock Pot and clearing the counter to make room.” —Pat
• “I was rather skeptical at first, but then…the aroma started hitting! Wow. My tummy started rumbling, and I began to drool.” —Jacquelyn